Up bright and early again and off to the Montmarte district to see the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.Montmarte is a hill in north of Paris which is not only known for the white dome of Sacre Coeur but also it’s nightclubs, primarily Moulin Rouge. The name Montmarte means ‘mountain of the martyr after St Denis the Bishop of Paris and who is the patron saint of France, was decapitated on the hill in approx 250 AD.

Montmarte was known as an artists community and Dali, Monet and Picasso were some of the artists who had studios in the area.

The place is actually quite dreary and dingy in the daylight and the Moulin Rouge obviously comes into it’s own at night because it looks very run down in the light of day.After getting off the bus, we trudged up the narrow streets past all the tacky souveneir shops up to the base of the basilica. It pays to be fit as it is a steep climb up the hill, and there are a lot of steps up to the basilica.

The view over Paris from the top is spectacular. Although we had overcast weather and a bit of a drizzle the sight back over the city to the Eiffel Tower was awesome.

The internal staircase winds around and around and you begin to wonder if you are ever going to reach the top. I remember making a comment about fat friars chasing alter boys up these winding stairs believe me the boys would have been safe.

All the old songs about Paris came to mind “Under the Bridges of Paris”, etc. Here we were cruising down the Seine in Summer at dusk. How fantastic this was.

The trip ended back at the pier just down from the Eiffel Tower, which was all lit up and made a fantastic sight on which to finish the cruise. From here Paula and I returned to our hotel while the rest of the group went on to see the show at the Moulin Rouge.

Our day had been hectic and so we were quite happy to give the show a miss. After all there is always next time. 

We were going to go to the Moulin Rouge, but as my husband hadn’t come on this journey, there were some things I wanted to leave until I returned with him.

Here we are having dinner up the Eiffel Tower with 3 American women and a Croatian gentleman from New Zealand.

After dinner we all set off an a cruise down the Seine. We have to keep pinching ourselves as we can’t believe we are here in Paris.

We set off down the Seine and took advantage of

the fantastic photo opportunities that presented themselves.

I have always admired the works of Rodin since I first read a biography about him when I was a teenager. My favourite work are ‘The Kiss’ and ‘The Thinker’. So I was really excited to be visiting the Rodin Museum in Paris.Originally the embracing couple appeared as part of a group of reliefs decorating Rodin’s “The Gates of Hell”. Rodin replaced the couple with another pair of lovers.

Originally The Kiss was titled Francesca da Rimin, because it depicts the Italian noblewoman immortalised in Dante’s Inferno who falls for the younger brother of her husband. The couple fell in love while reading about Lancelot and Guinevere, Francesca’s husband, Giovanni discovers the pair and kills them. The book is seen in Paolo’s hand. Their lips do not touch in the sculpture, suggesting they were interrupted and dispatched without the lovers having kissed

A stroll through the gardens is fascinating with a larger than life

sculpture of ‘The Thinker’ and ‘The Gates of Hell’.

We spent quite some time taking in the sights and exploring Rodin’s house.

The statue of ‘The Thinker’ was originally named ‘The Poet’. This heroic figure was meant to depict Dante Alighieri sitting in from of the The Gates of Hell, contemplating his epic poem ‘Divine Comedy’, which is considered to be on of the greatest literary works of the Middle Ages.

The Thinker is instantly recognised as an icon of intellectual activiity.

Its also a resting place for tourists who are tired out from taking in the beautiful city of Paris.

While strolling through the garden, taking in the sites, a young man called out to us “Hey you - American?” “No we responded - Australian”. He burst out laughing and called “I know - Paul Hogan - Crocodile Dundee - Put another shrimp on the barbie!”
So the Australian Tourist board advertising had paid off.

We sat and relaxed for a short time, just people watching before setting off again to see the sculptor, Rodin’s house and works.

Parisian women are so elegant, the cut of their clothes helps of course. We felt positively scruffy in comparison.

The Pyramid of the Louvre

So off we went and paid some astronomical amount of money to lunch in style.

Well things didn’t quite go without a hitch. I ordered a steak - medium well if you please. A rather gorgeous French waiter placed my plate in front of me, with a well rehearsed florish.

And I nearly puked. The thing looked like it was going to jump off the plate and start mooing. ( I know a gross exaggeration here). So I called the waiter over and pointed out that the steak was raw, this was a bit of a comedy really as I don’t speak French and he didn’t speak English ( or if he did, wasn’t letting on).

So here comes the second round of steak and lo and behold, it’s hardly any better than the first one. Again the parody continues, and then the third steak arrived, actually this one was the second one having been burnt and buggered beyond recognition of anything other than boot leather. By this time Iwas starving and didn’t care what they might have done to the steak out in the kitchen. Yes I have heard all those stories too about what happens when you return a meal.

So we sat and chatted and drank in the elegant surroundings while I chewed on my leather like steak. I can’t remember what Paula had, but I know she enjoyed it. I am sure it wasn’t steak.

There are, on average, in excess of two and half million visitors to the Musee d’Orsay each year.

And that brings me to another incident. After lunch we decided to visit the powder room to freshen up. So we are standing in a very long queue with ladies of all nationalities, waiting to go to the loo, just looking around when we noticed that we were outside the mensroom. And on the wall is a great big mirror in a gorgeous gilt frame, facing back into the mens room and there they all are at the urinal. Well of course it didn’t matter that none of us could understand the other, we all knew what we were looking at, and lots of sniggers, laughter and knowing looks ensued.

Nothing like seeing someone else in an embarrassing position to break down language barriers.

So off we went to finish the rest of the museum. Don’t miss this when you are next in Paris. All the splendour is a feast for the eyes and senses.

The rue de Lille was once the central lane of the garden belonging to Henri IV’s famous queen, Marguerite de Valois. When she died in 1615, the property was sold off in lots, and became the private mansions.During the 19th century, between 1810 and 1838 there were two buildings constructed on the site of the future Orsay station: the Cavalry barracks and the Palais d’Orsay.

In 1871, during the Paris Commune the entire neighborhood was burnt down. Nothing was done with the ruins of the Palais d’Orsay until the French government gave the Orleans railroad company the land to build a central terminus station. This was completed in time for the World Fair on July 14th 1900.

From 1900 to 1939, the Gare d’Orsay served as a hotel to numerous travelers as well as being popular with political parties for banquets and meetings. After 1939, the station had become too short to take the longer electrical trains.

During the Second World War the Gare d’Orsay was used as a mailing center for sending packages to prisoners of war, then as a film set and as an auction house.

General de Gaulle held the press conference announcing his return to power in its ballroom (the Salle des Fêtes), and the hotel finally closed its doors on January 1st, 1973,

The station came under consideration for demolition and to be rebuilt as a hotel and it is only the nineteenth century architecture that saved the building which was then listed on the Supplementary Inventory of Historical Monuments on 8th March 1973.

The building was now guaranteed not to be demolished, so in 1975 the Direction des Musées de France considered placing works of art from the second half of the 19th century.

On the 20th of October 1977, there was an official decree to build the Musee d’Orsay as an initiative of President Valery Giscard d”Estaing

In 1978 a civil commission was created to construct the museum and the building was classified a Historical Monument.

The new museum was inaugurated on December 1st 1986 by the President of the Republic, François Mitterrand and finally opened to the public on December 9th.

And what a magnificent job they made of it. The building is as breathtaking as the works of art that it houses.

We awoke on the second morning in Paris to the sound of the street cleaning machines. Funnily enough we had been told that Paris was a dirty city. Well we certainly did not see any signs of the things we were told to expect.
If anything the city was sparkling clean and the street cleaner came down our street with certain regularity every morning at around 5:30am.We breakfasted in the little restaurant in the basement of the hotel, on ham, a variety of cheeses croissants, cereal, fruit and juices. Everything was fresh and unpolluted with preservatives. What a lovely change to smell and taste fresh food.

Then off we set to the Musee d’Orsay.

You can see the old railway clock in the background. More on the history of the Musee d’Orsay to come.